c1928 DISCUSSIONS WITH MY RABBI J MENDELSOHN LUTHERAN HEBREW MISSION BALTIMORE

Description

Up for auction is a fascinating, well-preserved, and to me somewhat curious and even incomprehensible little pamphlet,
Discussions with My Rabbi,
written by J. Mendelsohn and published by The Mediator in Baltimore, whose address is printed on the back cover, on which there's a hand stamp of three lines, reading:
LUTHERAN HEBREW MISSION,
1503 E. BALTIMORE ST.,
BALTIMORE, MD.
I believe this is a brochure from an early "Jew for Jesus"- or Messianic Judaism-related organization, as the Lutheran Hebrew Mission, sometimes called the Salem Lutheran Hebrew Mission, attempted to proselytize Jews and convert them to Christianity, specifically to Lutheranism.
My guess is the booklet is from the late 1920s or thereabouts, as there's a recent book mentioned within that was published in 1928.
The 12-page double-stapled booklet, which measures approximately 3-1/2 inches wide by 4-3/4 inches high, has a black-and-white image on the front cover of two men in yarmulkes having a spirited discussion over a book-strewn tabletop, and the words underneath them read: "THE POINT AT ISSUE."
The inside front cover has a line on it reading "COPYRIGHT BY THE MEDIATOR," and the pamphlet's text in full reads:
For several weeks Rabbi Cohen has been after me to accept the Presidency of the Synagogue, but since my business takes me out of town quite frequently, I urged that some one with more time on his hands be given the office. However, at last night's meeting, before I could bat an eye, my name was suggested, the motion seconded and I found myself unanimously elected. My wife was elated and everybody from the Rabbi down was pleased.
When the door ot my office opened this morning and Rabbi Cohen made his appearance I was not surprised, as it was natural that I would now see a good deal of him.
"Did you see this," he began unceremoniously, pointing to the paper in his hand, "did you see what our
goyisher chochen,
Dr. Parker, says on the Christian conception of God? I tell you that
tov sh'bagoyim,
that even the best among the Gentiles are Simon-pure polytheists, as pagan as the Africans."
The mention of Dr. Parker's name struck me as odd, for not only is he the outstanding minister in the town, but even we of the Jewish community have come to look upon him as a generous spirit, a man of broad sympathies. When Henry Ford and the Ku Klux Klan ran wild in an orgy of hate, he, both by pen and tongue, denounced their intolerance and championed the Jewish position with the candor of a free spirit.
"Dr. Parker a -- what?" I asked, "you surprise me, Rabbi Cohen."
"Why, did you not read in this morning's paper how he swallowed the Trinity hook and sinker?" Rabbi Cohen came back at me.
"Yes, I read it," was my reply, "and what is more, I have discussed that very subject with him before. The Trinity, Dr. Parker once said to me, is a philosophical concept, denoting, not three or more gods, but what we call
yetziroth,
emanations of the Godhead."
"But I know of many Christians," asserted Rabbi Cohen, "whose peculiar mathematics make of God, three, and of three, one."
"And what about the Orthodox Jewish view," I suggested, "according to which the day has twelve hours. In the first three God occupies Himself with the Torah. In the second, He sits and judges the whole world. When He sees that it deserves utter destruction, He gets up from the throne of judgment and seats Himself on the throne of mercy. The third, He sits and feeds all the world, from the horns of the unicorns to the eggs of the vermin; and in the fourth, He sits and plays with Leviathan."
"Why bring up that nonsense!" burst out Rabbi Cohen.
"But it is in the Talmud, in
Avodah Zarah 3b,
" I reminded him.
"But we Reform Jews," he demurred, "do not believe in this hairspun casuistry."
"On what grounds, then, do you charge the credulity of a few in the intelligence of the world?" I asked. "I have yet to meet an intelligent Christian who understands the Trinity to imply more than one God. Don't we say that God is justice, love and mercy, which in religious parlance are His attributes? Now if we grant that there are various attributes in the Godhead, why then should we regard it unthinkable that there are various
yetziroth,
various emanations of the Godhead?"
"My, but you are getting into a terrible morass" -- Rabbi Cohen jumped to his feet.
"Call it morass or what you will, but the truth is, I said, "that we are too prone to call others bad names, polytheists and what not, while our own Talmud is guilty of the most crass, the most anthropomorphic conceptions of the Deity."
"Man, but you are taking this seriously," Rabbi Cohen's voice unexpectedly took on a lighter tone.
"But I noticed you were mighty serious when you started it," I observed.
Espying a copy of the New York
Jewish Tribune
containing an attack on Christian missionary activity among Jews, he chuckled gleefully. "Aha! here is giving it to them in the neck! Fancy the impudence of their sending missionaries amongst us to ply their nefarious proselytizing business! We don't bother them; why should they monger with our souls?"
"You seem to be full of touchy subjects this morning, Rabbi," I remarked. "Funny, but only the other day I picked up a little book,
Judaism, a Manual for the Instruction of Proselytes,
issued by the Central Conference of American Rabbis. Queer, isn't it? We are supposed not to engage in soul-mongering and yet we issue manuals of instruction for proselytes! However, it is not historically true that we have never indulged in proselyting [sic]. A perusal of the article 'Proselytes' in the Jewish Encyclopedia, and a study of the
Missionary History of the Synagogue
in Dr. Isidor Singer's book, 'A Religion of Truth, Justice and Peace,' will tell a different tale. Only the other day you spoke on Aime Palliere, the Frenchman who, though born a Gentile, became a convert to Judaism and Rabbi of a Synagogue in Paris. What a hubbub Rabbi Stephen Wise made over him when he spoke in the Free Synagogue! Tell me, what did Eliezer ben Hyrcanos mean when he said: 'Israel was purposely spread about the world so as to gain proselytes for the faith of Jehovah'
Pessachim 87b?
"Yes, " sneered Rabbi Cohen, "but these Jewish missionaries are an insincere lot, they are only doing it for pay."
"Rabbi, I wouldn't be so quick to pass snap judgment. No one has ever fathomed the human soul. If Aime Palliere could find something beautiful in Judaism, why should I be so narrow, so hide-bound as to maintain that a Jew cannot find something beautiful in Christianity? I hold the position that every man has the right to follow the dictates of his own conscience; and as to the missionary's pay, that's neither here nor there. But frankly, I question whether they get as much as does the average Reform Rabbi -- as much, for example, as do you. Yet, for anyone to say that you preach Judaism because you receive a salary, would be to charge you with the lowest of motives, of selling your soul for pelf."
"Say all you want to, but I've never yet met a decent missionary," asserted Rabbi Cohen.
"You haven't, you say? '
Lo rainu ainoh rayoh'
is what the Rabbis used to say. The anti-Semite claims he has never met a decent Jew. Have you met all the missionaries in the world? Now I'll tell you why I borrowed that volume of the Jewish Encyclopedia from you the other day. After I had read the
Manual for the Instruction of Proselytes
I decided to do a little reading on the subject. Listen to this from page 252, Vol. IV, of the Jewish Encyclopedia: 'Jewish converts,' it says, 'are destined to do the work, though involuntarily, for Judaism. Whatever mental vigor there is in an offspring of the Jewish race, whatever spark from the fire of Sinai burns in a descendant of the house of Israel, he cannot help, even though he stray far away from his Jewish cradle, contributing a share of the Jewish spirit to the upbuilding of the divine kingdom of truth and righteousness in the larger world which he has entered!'
"Now, Rabbi, will you charge the Jewish Encyclopedia with being biased in favor of missionaries? Hardly."
"Haven't I always said that you would rather argue than eat?" cut in Rabbi Cohen, reaching for his paper and hat.
"Just to prove that you are wrong again," I replied, jocularly, "let's go to lunch together."
Interestingly, on page 9 there's what almost seems like an advertisement for a book mentioned in the above text, reading:
JUDAISM
A Manual for the Instruction
of Proselytes
PREPARED BY
THE CENTRAL CONFERENCE OF AMERICAN
RABBIS
CINCINNATI, OHIO
1928
Unfortunately, I wasn't able to find out anything about "J. Mendelsohn" or Rabbi Cohen, presumably located somewhere in or around Baltimore.
The overall condition of this double-stapled 12-page pamphlet is very good. There's minor corner-bumping and -bending, edgewear, smudging, rubbing, spotting, etc., to the glossy paper. A blue-inked stamp is on the back cover. The two silver-tone metal staples have rusted, causing some browning on the adjacent paper, especially at the centerfold. The paper is likely a bit age-toned / yellowed / darkened. The pages are clean and unmarked, with no annotations, marginalia, underlining, or scribbles within, nor any major damage or flaws in the way of missing or clipped pages, large tears, water or liquid damage, tape repairs, etc. The pamphlet has neither a musty nor smoky odor.
This pamphlet from the Lutheran Hebrew Mission of Baltimore is being sold AS IS, AS DESCRIBED ABOVE AND PICTURED WITHIN. I am setting what I feel is a reasonable starting price for the auction, and there is NO RESERVE. I am also including a Buy It Now price, which will of course disappear once a bid is made.
Shipping and
handling for the item, which will be sent in a rigid mailer (I don't want to risk its being lost in an untracked first-class envelope, which has happened to something I mailed someone in the past): to U.S. addresses (via Media Mail, as it is printed matter) and to Canada and to Europe, Japan, Australia, South America, and elsewhere in the world (the latter two via First Class International Mail, aka Air Mail, which is now the CHEAPEST method possible abroad).
I recently discovered that some countries, such as Australia and South Korea, are actually a bit more expensive to post packages to than Europe, but at this point in time I'll keep all the non-domestic and non-Canadian prices the same and swallow the difference myself -- unless it turns out to be or more, which I doubt, and in which case I'll ask the buyer for additional money for shipping -- since so few outside the States buy my items, though of course I'm always so pleased when they do!
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If you are the winner or buyer of this little publication, PAYMENT IS EXPECTED WITHIN TWO WEEKS (14 DAYS) FROM THE PURCHASE DATE. If you cannot pay within this time frame, please contact me asap so we can work something out. I'm very flexible and understanding, but I would appreciate communication from you one way or another.
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Thanks for looking, and please don't hesitate to email me if you have any questions about this fascinating little pamphlet.
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